Carla, Marie d'Orleans can look very different at different points of the season. The quilling for which the rose is known is absent in cool weather. And the color changes too, as the slight lavender undertones of early spring are replaced by raspberry as the season progresses. Here's mine in the cool weather of early April. In May, as the weather was warming up By mid June the blooms have taken on their summer look. The plant height range HMF gives seems about right, but I disagree with their description of the blooms as "very large." They're maybe a little bit on the large side of average for their class.

greybird, I don't grow Lady Hillingdon so I don't know her habits, but I have found that you can't throw all teas in one bag as far as growth patterns. My Rosette Delizy was planted in 6/08. In November she was maybe 2-1/2 ft tall and obviously an upright grower. Today she's more than 5' tall and perfectly vase-shaped. Gen Schablikine & Maman Cochet are upright, but not the same in that their structure so far is much more twiggy without the straight tall canes growing in a V. Then again Mons Tillier is kind of a combination on steroids. I have other teas that couldn't be more different. Gen Gallieni was planted last May and is less than a foot tall and maybe 2' wide in one direction and healthy. Enchantress and Souv de Francois Gaulain are good growers and healthy both planted last March, but they're maybe 2' tall and 3' wide, growing in a clump, very densely leafed with a lot of bloom. The Mme Antoines Mari & Rebe and LaSylphide (planted in '08) are more round than v-shaped but very open & twiggy & 3.5x3.5. I had Marie d'Orleans. She started out like an upright grower in '08 maybe 2' tall in '09 and she seemed to stop and went leafless in late spring and all summer. I took her out. Maybe hers was a water issue (?), and I was premature in removing her. I've been told SdFG grows wide and low. Vintage says Enchantress stays fairly small. I don't know what to think about Gen Gallieni except that he's growing roots and will get busy growing above ground pretty soon, but I'm just guessing. You're in zone 7 which I gather is a very different place than zone 9 for teas. All I can say is be patient if they look healthy and give them as much heat as possible. Mine suck up the oven-like heat that the Florida sun dishes out with no complaints. Maybe a southern exposure against a wall would be best for your teas. And they do like water, but mine are growing in amended sand. If you have clay that might be even better. All in all I think most of the issue for you will be heat, and your plants will be smaller than mine as Lance mentioned. How that will effect their habit of growth, I don't know. Will they be exact miniatures of roses grown in my garden? Or something else? BTW, thrips are a pain in the butt, but my RD has had more of a problem with botrytis. If it's not one thing it's another. I wish I still had Marie d'Orleans. Her color was very exciting. So many pastels among tea roses, but hers is quite vivid, and the quilled petals were wonderful. All the best to you. Patience, friend. Sherry

Please tell me what you would put on your bulb plants, and when, to keep critters from digging them up time after time after time. A dog for squirrels and chipmuckers, and a cat for voles. I don't use chemical deterrents. You can devise little wire baskets to protect them from digging. I've never done it, but they say it works. The stems grow through the holes in the basket, but critters are discouraged from accessing the bulbs. Some bulbs are more attractive than others. Tulips are a rodent delicacy; daffodils are sometimes dug, but not eaten. Bulbs of the Amaryllidaceae family are generally less attractive to critters than those of the Lilaceae family, which includes lilies and tulips. What do the rest of you do about critters and bulbs? Nell

John, that is hysterical. My ex-next door neighbor used to play music loudly at 3 am and jump up and down in front of his windows naked. Does that count? He was usually drunk at the time. I would call security for the loud noise and they would let me know his current status and that he would refuse to open the door and refuse to turn down the music. So glad when he finally sold his house and is now someone else's neighbor. We human beings tend to be a funny lot.